By Bryna Djuhar and Daryll Nanayakara

He would trail his unsuspecting victims at a distance before viciously punching them in the face or slamming their head into a wall.

Then he would forcefully grab their valuables as they lay dazed from the attack and unable to identify him.

At a press conference yesterday, the police revealed that the 51-year-old suspect was arrested at the void deck of his home in Clementi Avenue 2 at about 10pm.

The stolen goods - pieces of gold jewellery and a mobile phone - amounted to $7,000. But only $4,000 worth of the jewellery have been recovered from pawnshops in Clementi so far, police said.

His latest victim was assaulted till she became unconscious. Several gold items - a chain, pendant, watch and bracelet - were taken from her.

The arrest followed almost a week of investigations and stake-outs involving a 20-man taskforce.

The series of robberies, which first occurred on June 20, caught the attention of the police because of their vicious and repetitive nature.

The suspect would trail elderly victims in the Woodlands market area in the morning.

At night he operated in Choa Chu Kang, targeting those who were returning home from the MRT stations or bus stops nearby, police said.

Police also checked the numerous pawnshops around Singapore for the stolen jewellery that the victims described.

The suspect's name kept reappearing in the receipts, allowing the police to identify him.

Using these methods, police officers staked out his usual haunts and his home since last week.

The unemployed suspect is also wanted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for drug-related offences.

Deputy assistant commissioner of police Cheang Keng Keong yesterday warned elderly women to refrain from carrying large sums of cash and wearing excessive jewellery.

If found guilty, the suspect could be sentenced to a minimum of five years in jail and given 12 strokes of the cane.


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